#montferrat

The Heroic Legend of Arslan German Edition, art by Hiromu Arakawa.

The horse kick? Novel canon.

Cutting the reins like that? Not novel canon.

Looking at some Team Zahhak blades today! First up is Arzhang's. Images from Chapters 24 and 30. Maybe the handle is made of bone?

Closeup of the snake detailing on the blade.

Now for Pulad.

Images from Chapters 55 and 64.

Again, this weapon features two snake heads with their fangs bared (obviously evoking Zahhak's two shoulder snakes). If I were to design a crest for Team Zahhak, this would definitely be included! Team Zahhak are... not subtle.

And that brings to mind a question; why hasn't anyone picked up on this? And by 'anyone' I mainly mean Narsus, because he encountered both Arzhang and Pulad, and would have had a chance to inspect their weapons if he chose to. Wouldn't he have looked at anything that might have given a clue to the identity of these sorcerers and their aims? Pulad's face was rendered unrecognisable from his fall in Chapter 64, but Isfan had been trying to capture him and Narsus lamented the fact that there was no way to identify him.

Which is why it would be very convenient if Guiscard handed Team Arslan a captured Gurgin in the next chapter.

But the weapons are a clue, quite a big one, I think. Because in Pars there must be a very strong association of snakes with Zahhak. And especially with there being two snakes featured on the blade, it could be enough to raise some suspicions.

Also, Narsus isn't the only one who may have noticed some snaky hints:

Here's Montferrat in Chapter 81, looking at the blade wielded by Innocentis. Innocentis picked it out of a lineup of weapons, but he was clearly under the influence of Team Zahhak, and they left their mark on this poisoned sword.

Now, that alone isn't enough for Montferrat to have drawn any sort of conclusion, but we know he's heard rumours of magic users and is suspicious about the unnatural mist at Atropatene and the incidents of 'hands sprouting from the ground and killing people,' and he also distrusts Hilmes and suspects his involvement.

As a Lusitanian, Montferrat was probably unaware of Zahhak, so at this point couldn't have made a guess at the existence of the Team Zahhak faction or their aims. But if, after Guiscard's encounter with Gurgin in Chapter 109, he had talked to Montferrat about what happened and about what Gurgin said, perhaps he could have put a bit more of it together. Or else perhaps he voiced his suspicions to Guiscard earlier, and now Guiscard is the one starting to understand. I'm very curious to see whether we get a flashback or whether the conversation in the next chapter brings up some of these points.

And of course I am still enjoying the idea of a captured mage Gurgin featuring in the proceedings and later being used as a guide to Team Zahhak's lair.

What's gonna happen, what's Bodin doing here????

Yeah, how Arakawa handled him going out was masterful, and even just looking at the raw I couldn't help but be affected by it. The novel scene is a lot more brief and the way Arakawa expanded on it made me feel a lot more. It was unexpected. I haven't looked at the dialogue/thought text in that scene yet (just got in from work) but I think I might need to brace myself for further emotions.

asjdfshfgdgh you know you shouldn't have said 'Narsus might cry if Elam got hurt' right before this chapter came out...

To be serious about it though, I'm sure he'll survive this but it is interesting to me that Arakawa is not afraid to dish out a little extra harm where she feels it's needed to indicate the danger of a situation. I do wonder whether he'll manage to make it back to Narsus or whether someone will have to come to his aid, though.

It looks like we're lining up for Bodin vs Guiscard? Guiscard is... really not in a good position right now. Not only is Montferrat gone, but he's lost basically all that remained of his renowned knights who had survived the battle against Andragoras (this is shown in those five panels where the named Lusitanian knights are being killed off by Farangis, Zaravant, Jimsa, Merlaine and Daryun!). Does he even have a realistic chance of taking on Bodin and his forces now, with his exhausted, demoralised troops?

Honestly, Guiscard's army will probably just get routed at this point.

But Arslan's forces are on the battlefield, too. Are they going to get sandwiched between Bodin and Guiscard? Bodin's dialogue makes it seem like he'll try to crush Guiscard and then the Parsian heathens. And that arrow hitting someone standing close to Guiscard makes it clear he's in a super dangerous situation right now. His will to live is pretty strong so I'm sure he'll try to escape, but will he make it? How will Team Arslan respond?

Guiscard and Montferrat chapter 110 meme template

(still not out on Crunchyroll...)

The chapter follows on immediately from Chapter 79, with Don Ricardo who is injured and stuck in the chasm after the earthquake, and has just found Rukhnabad. At the end of the last chapter I was like ‘oooh’ since in this scene in the novel, he doesn’t encounter the sword at all. And aside from making me laugh with how he writes it off as junk and then uses it as 1. a crutch and 2. a shovel, having him pick it up ends up reinforcing its magical properties.

Don Ricardo takes Rukhnabad with him into the cavern where Zahhak is bound, and holds onto it the whole time; when he passes out his body actually falls on top of the sword. He definitely attracted the attention of Zahhak (and the endlessly creepy snakes on his shoulders), but the fact that the darkness which had closed in around him then recedes as Zahhak withdraws seems like it might be related to the presence of the sword. The fact that he’s holding Rukhnabad was probably the only thing that stopped him from having his brain eaten.

And just how terrifying is Zahhak? You can’t even see him in full here, but the design of the snakes is just... Yeah. Don Ricardo doesn’t know the legend of Zahhak so doesn’t have that innate fear, but the sense of Zahhak’s presence is so horrifying that he is in utter terror.

Olaberria and one other survivor have no idea that Don Ricardo is still alive and so they begin heading back to Ecbatana to tell Guiscard of what they have seen, but...

He has to eat/drink out of that bowl without the use of his hands because it would be inconvenient for Andragoras if he dies. (bathroom facilities don’t look great either; see that little pot in the corner with curtains for privacy?)

But despite how bad Guiscard looks here, he hasn’t given up and tries asking questions, though Andragoras’s answers are evasive. (poor Guiscard; his main problem with his situation here is actually that if he dies like this, this is how he’ll be remembered rather than for conquering the two great powers of Maryam and Pars — he doesn’t want that to be his legacy. I definitely see Guiscard as someone who wants his impact on history to be remembered for many years into the future, and favourably so!)

At any rate, Guiscard’s definitely thinking about how he can turn things to his advantage, and he’s learning a few things about the Parsian royal family that he didn’t know before.